From “Azure” to “Hebraic Political Studies”

More recently, studies. But the difference between the Shalem these two journals is not as clear-cut FROM “AZURE” TO Center has as the manifestos of their (entirely introduced a new different) editors might seem to “HEBRAIC periodical that suggest. Hebraic Political Studies bears the title has already published in its very Hebraic Political short lifetime articles that resemble POLITICAL STUDIES” Studies and others that have appeared in Azure, Allan Arkush identifies itself as including a piece by Shalem Center he Jerusalem-based but by “an international peer-reviewed founder and frequent Azure no means exclusively Israeli journal.” This journal seeks above contributor Yoram Hazony entitled TShalem Center calls itself “a all to recover “the Hebraic political “Does the Bible have a Political research institute dedicated to tradition” developed through the Teaching?” And Azure has Jewish and Israeli social thought ages “by Jewish, Christian, and published articles that could easily and policy.” Islamic thinkers— be imagined in the pages of Hebraic Outside observers rabbis, theologians, Political Studies, such as Joseph commonly scholars, and Dan’s “Jewish Sovereignty as a describe it as a statesmen—who Theological Problem” and Yosef “neoconservative drew ideas with Yitzhak Lifshitz’s “Foundations of a think tank” political import Jewish Economic Theory.” funded by from the Hebrew wealthy Bible, and who In fact, the article that seems to Americans and interacted with have served as the inspiration for devoted to each other and the creation of Hebrew Political providing the with the Studies, Fania Oz-Salzberger’s “The Israeli right with philosophical Jewish Roots of the Modern more solid traditions they Republic,” originally appeared in intellectual Azure in 2002. In grounding. In this essay Oz- carrying out its Salzberger, who mission, the teaches modern Center, however history at the one chooses to University of Haifa, characterize it, Courtesy of the Shalem Center maintains that “the has for ten years been publishing encountered.” story of political Azure, a quarterly that focuses on The editors of Hebraism, the what its subtitle refers to as “Ideas Hebraic Political sustained effort to for the Jewish Nation.” Since its Studies articulate read the Bible inception this journal has been no broader aim politically during engaged in a “comprehensive than evaluating the seventeenth attempt at understanding the basic the place of this century, is one of concepts and values which have tradition in the most exciting caused” what its editors perceive to “political history chapters in the be the current “crisis in Jewish and the history history of political nationalism.” It has been concerned of political thought.” If it is not only with interpreting the world thought” in Courtesy of the Shalem Center now little known, but with changing it as well. In general. the fault basically lies with the their very first issue Azure’s editors influential Enlightenment philosophes announced their intention “to seek A comparison of the very who “no longer needed the Old out and consolidate a new common pronounced political goals of the Testament and the republic of the denominator among Jews who still older publication with the Hebrews” in order to formulate believe in the Jewish state.” They emphatically academic character of their political theories. Observing aimed “to form a new consensus the newer one might seem to the manifest weaknesses of the “thin capable of refashioning our national indicate that the latter is more liberalism” to which these theories goals.” deserving of attention in our survey ultimately gave rise, however, Oz- of the field of Jewish political Salzberger calls for a re-examination 20 of the texts rendered almost seventeenth-century laboratory that Hugo Grotius, Petrus Cunaeus, and obsolete by the philosophes. Her is of such importance to Oz- John Locke, who were singled out point is “not to glory in whatever Salzberger but, as we have already by Oz-Salzberger in her article and Jewish chromosomes may be found seen, it goes considerably beyond it, Shochet and Eyffinger in their initial in the genome of Western political emphasizing the productive role of editorial statement. The Spring thought.” It is “to consider and the Hebraic political tradition from 2006 issue, for instance, includes an reconsider which parts of these antiquity to the present. In seeking article by Wilhelm Schmidt- sources, and of the inspiration they an explanation for recent Biggemann entitled “Political offered to European Theology in theorists of liberty, Renaissance might be of value to DESPITE ITS ORIGINS, “HEBRAIC POLITICAL STUDIES” Christian Kabbala: us today.” MAY TURN OUT TO BE A JOURNAL OF MORE INTEREST TO Petrus Galatinus and Guillaume Postel.” By “us” Oz- STUDENTS OF FORGOTTEN CORNERS OF MODERN But each issue also Salzberger means contains at least one not only Israelis or INTELLECTUAL HISTORY THAN TO PEOPLE WHO ASPIRE TO article that has an Jews but everyone ancient or a very who feels that the REVITALIZE LIBERALISM IN ISRAEL IN PARTICULAR OR IN modern theme. The “gamble on the part very first issue of post- THE WESTERN WORLD IN GENERAL. includes a piece by Enlightenment Steven Grosby on liberalism did not pay off . .” She indifference to the Hebraic tradition “The Biblical ‘Nation’ as a Problem invites all such people to “return to in political thought, they do not for Philosophy,” and the latest issue the great laboratory of the identify specific culprits but are includes an article by Avinoam seventeenth century” for prepared only to assert that it is Rosenak on “Law, Halacha, and reorientation. If “we look again,” “perhaps due to a persistent and Education: New Directions in the she concludes, “to the ancient self-consciously secular Philosophy of Halacha.” Hebrew republic for inspiration . Enlightenment heritage . .” And we may yet restore the questions of they conclude their opening After the appearance of its first human nature, communal statement not with an expression of three issues, it is clear enough that responsibility, and the deliberate hope that contemporary political Hebraic Political Studies will be as actions of the individual into the discourse can be transformed but wide ranging as its editors have heart of our own political with nothing more than a wish promised it would be. It also discourse.” “that Hebraic Political Studies will appears clear that the political vision help initiate a new field of that contributed to its founding will scholarship . .” In this connection In her endnotes, Oz-Salzberger not necessarily find direct expression it is worth noting that this journal extends her gratitude to Yoram in its pages. Despite its origins, appears only in English and not, like Hazony, the founder of the Shalem Hebraic Political Studies may turn Azure, in a simultaneous and Center, for his “deep interest” in out to be a journal of more interest identical Hebrew version. her work. And it is indeed easy to to students of forgotten corners of see how Hazony might regard it as modern intellectual history than to a very promising tool for Not surprisingly, most of the articles people who aspire to revitalize developing ideas for the Jewish in each of the first three issues of liberalism in Israel in particular or in nation that could help it to Hebraic Political Studies are devoted the Western world in general. Time refashion its goals. Inspired by Oz- to seventeenth-century topics. One, will tell. Salzberger, he brought together his Warren Zev Harvey’s “The Israelite dissertation adviser at Rutgers, Kingdom of God in Hobbes’ Allan Arkush is Professor of Judaic Gordon Schochet, who is a Political Thought,” is a translation Studies and History at Binghamton specialist in seventeenth-century of a piece that first appeared in University. political thought, and the Dutch Iyyun twenty-five years earlier. Many expert on Grotius, Arthur Eyffinger, are expanded versions of papers to edit Hebraic Political Studies. initially given at a conference on The statement of their intentions in “Political Hebraism: Judaic Sources Events in Jewish Studies the journal’s first issue devotes a in Early Modern Political Thought” now online at great deal of attention to the held at the Shalem Center in 2004. These deal mostly with figures like www.ajsnet.org/events.php 21.

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